Ishmael
The enigmatic Ishmael introduces you to the Ark, implying she was one of the original Founders. She challenges you to choose a path. Which faction will you play as? -Game's manual Ishmael is a mysterious character in Brink, about whom very little is known. She narrates the game's launch trailer, its introduction, and the cutscenes for the beginnings and ends of both campaigns. Various quotes from Ishmael are shown when waiting for a level to load. Many of them highlight the scarcity of the Ark's resources and the decay of its infrastructure. Quotes * Ishmael: "Ark Security often close down Pelgos to conduct Live Fire exercises. At least, that's what the newscasts say." * Ishmael: "Guests live on rationed water but members of Security get an extra water ration." * Ishmael: "Living conditions for the refugee Guests are poor, and getting worse. The Founders live in luxury. But they built the place." * Ishmael: "Many Guests with jobs have to work in the Upper Ark and so pass through the Security Tower Checkpoint twice daily." * Ishmael: "Many refugee Guests insist the outside world exists just over the horizon. Some try to find it. None return. Which proves..." * Ishmael: "Most of the Guest Pelgos are made from recycled steel. Steel rusts. Steel sinks. Time is running out." * Ishmael: "Fuel for Security's helicopters is very scarce. Security know that. So do the Resistance." * Ishmael: "The Ark called its original VIP Resort tenants 'Guests'. The tens of thousands of refugees arriving in the 2020s, likewise. * Ishmael: "The Ark generates free electricity from arrays of Solar Panels...until they begin to bleach out." * Ishmael: "The Ark is made up of hundreds of artificial islands called Pelgos, a corruption of the word Archipelago." * Ishmael: "The Ark is surrounded by an enormous protective breakwater made up of wave-absorbing ramps, harvesting energy from the sea." * Ishmael: "The Ark lost all contact with the outside world fifteen years ago. So the Founders say." * Ishmael: "The Ark set out to attract the Brightest and the Best. And the Rich." * Ishmael: "The Ark uses Maintenance Bots to drag heavy items around. They'll only move if someone is nearby. Which isn't very safe, really." * Ishmael: "The Ark was built off the US West Coast, and then moved further out to sea for privacy. Current location: Unknown." * Ishmael: "The Ark was built to support a working population of around 5,000. Current population: 45,000." * Ishmael: "The Ark was flooded with refugee Guests in the 2020s. All contact with the outside world was lost in 2030. Lucky old Ark." * Ishmael: "The Ark was moved to international waters. No Intellectual Property laws means unlicensed knock-offs. There are worse forms of piracy." * Ishmael: "The Ark would never use dirty old nuclear fission for power. Just new, Green, clean fusion. Right?" * Ishmael: "The Ark's Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant generated power just through a head exchanger. Shame it broke down years ago." * Ishmael: "The Ark's Recycling Pelgo breaks down organic waste to produce food. The Ark's burial customs vary." * Ishmael: "The Ark's Resort used to be a playground for the world's richest. What's the point of Luxury in a survival situation?" * Ishmael: "The Ark's Shipyard used to build ships. Then it had to pull them apart for housing. Now it lies abandoned. Mostly." * Ishmael: "The Ark's underwater Wave Turbines harvest endless energy of the seas. Until they rust away." * Ishmael: "The Ark's Wind Farms harvest the infinitely renewable energy of the ocean breeze. Until the bearings wear out." * Ishmael: "The Aquarium Visitor Center dates back to when the Ark was still trying to raise venture capital for construction. Back when money mattered." * Ishmael: "The Container City slum is a rusting tangle of steel cannibalised from the ships the refugee Guests arrived on. It's falling apart." * Ishmael: "The Founders took in as many refugee Guests as they could. Why can't the Guests just be happy with what they have?" * Ishmael: "The Guests insist the Ark's unused Airport's runways are kept clear. Just in case the planes come back. Nothing so far." * Ishmael: "The kilometer-high Founders' Tower is the Ark's iconic landmark. It'll look great when it's finished." * Ishmael: "The original Ark was built from white Arkoral, a genetically modified form of coral. Looks nice. Traps CO2. Very smelly to work with." * Ishmael: "The seas didn't rise fast in the 2010s, but they didn't stop. Economic chaos ensued. Suddenly, finally, the Ark was the place to be." * Ishmael: "The Security Tower checkpoint separates the Guest worker slums from the privileged Founder areas. Riots are surprisingly rare." * Ishmael: "The Upper Ark contains the original Ark structures. The Lower Ark, rusting slums. In between them, the giant checkpoint known as Security Tower, or SecTow." * Ishmael: "The Upper Ark contains 80% of the Ark's wealth. The Lower Ark, 80% of its population. Something's got to give." * Ishmael: "There are rumours of an epidemic in the Lower Ark. When does seasonal flu become a plague?" Trivia *Ishmael is voiced by Marcia Warren. *According to the ending cutscenes of both campaigns, Ishmael is traveling to the Ark on a yacht. It is unclear which campaign is the one she canonically arrives in; however, either way, there are pillars of smoke rising from the Ark, revealing that the civil war has been completed by the time her yacht arrives. Category:Brink Category:Characters